Kerry unveils USD 4 bn Palestinian investment plan

US Secretary of State John Kerry unveiled a plan to boost the Palestinian economy by attracting USD 4 billion in private investment, saying it could transform the lives of the people.
As he seeks to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the table to negotiate a peace deal, Kerry said it was also imperative to create jobs and meet the hopes of young people for a better economic future.
He has tasked Tony Blair, the Quartet's special envoy to the Middle East, with drawing up a plan to revitalise the West Bank through boosting industries such as tourism, construction and agriculture.

Blair's plan, being aided by some global business leaders who are giving their time free, could be "ground-shaking," Kerry said, adding it could lead to "a private-sector-led healthy, sustainable Palestinian economy".
The group was putting together recommendations for the Palestinian leadership to decide on, aiming to "mobilise some USD 4 billion of investment".
"These experts believe we will increase the Palestinian GDP by as much as 50 percent over three years," Kerry told the closing session of the World Economic Forum meeting on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan.

"The most optimistic estimates foresee enough new jobs to cut unemployment by two-thirds to eight percent down from 21 percent and to increase the median wage by 40 percent," said the top US diplomat.

Some 100,000 jobs in home construction alone could be created in the next three years, while tourism could triple.
The West Bank had seen moderate growth in recent years only to be set back by Israeli and Western moves to stall aid following the Palestinian bid for upgraded UN status.
But Kerry warned the forum it stood before a historic moment, amid the yearnings for greater economic and social freedoms unleashed by the Arab Spring.
"We ignore the lessons of the Arab awakening at our own peril... It is imperative that all of us channel our creativity and energy into making sure that people do actually have better choices," he said.

He urged public and private sectors to work together saying they each "have a responsibility to meet the demands of this moment and one can't do it without the other. We need you at the table".